Читать книгу Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 16

The concept of globalization has become common currency today, and chapter 4 covers the subject in detail. Some have argued that the process of closer global integration has stalled or even gone into reverse, as evidenced by the increasing popularity of nationalism in the political sphere. Our assessment is that this is not correct. The globalization of social life has, of course, prompted opposition from several directions, while the supposed benefits of globalization have clearly not been favourable for everyone. But our view is that the balance of the evidence shows that the globalizing of human affairs continues, systematically binding the world’s societies more closely together, regardless of what we may think about it.

The 2008 financial crash and the 2019–20 Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that we all share a global economic system and global transport infrastructure that link national economies together and facilitate the mass movement of people around the world. The globalization of social life is one clear illustration of the need for sociologists to maintain a focus on worldwide social, economic and political change.